Jacob Fears Esau

1 Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 And when Jacob saw them he said, “This is God’s ^tcamp!” So he called the name of that place ^uMahanaim.¹

3 And Jacob sent² messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of ^vSeir, the country of Edom, 4 instructing them, “Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: Thus says your servant Jacob, ‘I have sojourned with Laban and stayed until now. 5 I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male servants, and female servants. I have sent to tell my lord, in order that ^wI may find favor in your sight.’”

6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and ^xhe is coming to meet you, and there are four hundred men with him.” 7 Then Jacob was ^ygreatly afraid and distressed. He divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two camps, 8 thinking, “If Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it, then the camp that is left will escape.”

9 And Jacob said, ^z“O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord who ^asaid to me, ‘Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good,’ 10 ^bI am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. 11 Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for ^cI fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children. 12 But ^dyou said, ‘I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’”

13 So he stayed there that night, and from what he had with him he took ^ea present for his brother Esau, 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15 thirty milking camels and their calves, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 16 These he handed over to his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass on ahead of me and put a space between drove and drove.” 17 He instructed the first, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, ‘To whom do you belong? Where are you going? And whose are these ahead of you?’ 18 then you shall say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a present sent to my lord Esau. And moreover, he is behind us.’” 19 He likewise instructed the second and the third and all who followed the droves, “You shall say the same thing to Esau when you find him, 20 and you shall say, ‘Moreover, your servant Jacob is behind us.’” For he thought, “I may appease him³ with the present that goes ahead of me, and afterward I shall see his face. Perhaps he will accept me.”⁴ 21 So the present passed on ahead of him, and he himself stayed that night in the camp.

Jacob Wrestles with God

22 The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children,⁵ and crossed the ford of the ^fJabbok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. 24 And Jacob was left alone. And ^ga man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, ^h“I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then he said, ⁱ“Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel,⁶ for ^jyou have striven with God and ^kwith men, and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, ^l“Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. 30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel,⁷ saying, “For ^mI have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” 31 The sun rose upon him as he passed ⁿPenuel, limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip on the sinew of the thigh.

Jacob Meets Esau

1 And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, ^oEsau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two female servants. 2 And he put the servants with their children in front, then Leah with her children, and Rachel and Joseph last of all. 3 He himself went on before them, ^pbowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

4 ^qBut Esau ran to meet him and embraced him ^rand fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. 5 And when Esau lifted up his eyes and saw the women and children, he said, “Who are these with you?” Jacob said, ^s“The children whom God has graciously given your servant.” 6 Then the servants drew near, they and their children, and bowed down. 7 Leah likewise and her children drew near and bowed down. And last Joseph and Rachel drew near, and they bowed down. 8 Esau said, “What do you mean by ^tall this company⁸ that I met?” Jacob answered, ^u“To find favor in the sight of my lord.” 9 But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.” 10 Jacob said, “No, please, if I have found favor in your sight, then accept my present from my hand. ^vFor I have seen your face, which is like seeing the face of God, and you have accepted me. 11 Please accept my ^wblessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.” Thus he ^xurged him, and he took it.

12 Then Esau said, “Let us journey on our way, and I will go ahead of⁹ you.” 13 But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are frail, and that the nursing flocks and herds are a care to me. If they are driven hard for one day, all the flocks will die. 14 Let my lord pass on ahead of his servant, and I will lead on slowly, at the pace of the livestock that are ahead of me and at the pace of the children, until I come to my lord ^yin Seir.”

15 So Esau said, “Let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.” But he said, “What need is there? ^zLet me find favor in the sight of my lord.” 16 So Esau returned that day on his way to ^aSeir. 17 But Jacob journeyed to ^bSuccoth, and built himself a house and made booths for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.¹⁰

18 And Jacob came safely¹¹ to the city of ^cShechem, which is in the land of Canaan, on his way from Paddan-aram, and he camped before the city. 19 And from the sons of ^dHamor, Shechem’s father, ^ehe bought for a hundred pieces of money¹² the piece of land on which he had pitched his tent. 20 There he erected an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.¹³

Messengers from John the Baptist

1 When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.

2 ^eNow when John heard ^fin prison about the deeds of ^gthe Christ, he sent word by ^hhis disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you ⁱthe one who is to come, or shall we ^jlook for another?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 ^kthe blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers¹ are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and ^lthe poor have good news preached to them. 6 And blessed is the one who ^mis not offended by me.”

7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out ⁿinto the wilderness to see? ^oA reed shaken by the wind? 8 What then did you go out to see? A man² dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9 What then did you go out to see? ^pA prophet?³ Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is he of whom it is written,

11 Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 ^rFrom the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence,⁴ and the violent take it by force. 13 ^rFor all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is ^sElijah who is to come. 15 ^tHe who has ears to hear,⁵ let him hear.

16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,

18 For John came ^uneither eating ^vnor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came ^weating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, ^xa friend of ^ytax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”⁶

Woe to Unrepentant Cities

20 ^zThen he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. 21 ^a“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in ^bTyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 ^cBut I tell you, it will be more bearable on ^dthe day of judgment for ^bTyre and Sidon than for you. 23 And you, ^eCapernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to ^fHades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 ^cBut I tell you that ^git will be more tolerable on ^dthe day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”

Come to Me, and I Will Give You Rest

25 ^hAt that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, ⁱLord of heaven and earth, that ^jyou have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and ^krevealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father, for such was your ^lgracious will.⁷ 27 ^mAll things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son ⁿexcept the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone ^oto whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 ^pCome to ^qme, all who labor and are ^rheavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and ^slearn from me, for I am ^tgentle and lowly in heart, and ^uyou will find rest for your souls. 30 For ^vmy yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

I Have Calmed and Quieted My Soul

A Song of ^mAscents. Of David.